Green Pest Services is proud to announce the winners of the 2017 scholarship. These students have proved to be hard-working members of their community who strive to be the best that they can be. We wish each of them the best as they go their various ways. Congratulations!
Lilly Gong recently graduated from Wootton High School in Rockville, MD
Lily will be attending Georgetown University in the Fall and is currently undecided on a major. Georgetown’s strong Humanities focus was something that drew her attention, as she has always been interested in her Social Studies courses.
Throughout her high school years, Lily was part of Wootton’s National Honors Society, Mu Alpha Theta Math Honors Society, Social Studies Honors Society, Thespian Honors Society, and an officer for the Tri-M Music Honors Society. Some of her accomplishments include placing 3rd in the 2015 Maryland State Piano Solo Festival, receiving the MSMTA Senior Distinguished Music Achievement Award and Wootton’s John Phillip Sousa Award.
Lily’s hobbies involve musical activities, as she has been learning classical piano for 11 years and drumming for 6 years. She was part of her school’s Wind Ensemble band as a concert percussionist, Marching band and drumline as a snare drummer, and Orchestra Pit for musicals as a pianist. Outside of school, she participated in MSMTA’s piano recitals, competitions and Music Theory Tests.
This summer Lily plans to attend the NCA Cappies Award Ceremony at the Kennedy Center as a representative of Wootton High School for the 2017 nomination for best Orchestra Pit. In her free time, she plans to visit Washington, DC with her friends and to help with Wootton’s marching band camp in preparation for their upcoming season. The Green Pest Services staff are proud to help Lily pursue higher education and know that she will do great things in this next chapter of her life! From the Green Pest Services staff, congratulations Lily!
Jonathan Cao, is a recent graduate of Chantilly High School in Chantilly, VA
In the fall, Jonathan will be double majoring in math and computer science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. He plans to pursue a premed track because it is directly applicable to his career goals as a researcher in bioinformatics or a healthcare provider.
Jonathan notes that his best accomplishments in high school were volunteering and interning. As a way to give back to his community, he founded the nonprofit Chess2Math to teach elementary school children in his area logical reasoning and mathematical concepts through the game of chess. Last year, he also participated in a summer internship at the Center to Protect Workers’ Rights (CPWR) to research the adverse effects of silica exposure on workers nationwide. At CPWR, he interacted with construction workers that contracted lung cancer and other diseases due to continuous silica exposure.
During his free time, Jonathan enjoys reading both fiction and nonfiction books and watching his favorite shows such as Community and Silicon Valley.
He will be working at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases this summer as part of the National Institute of Health Intramural Research Program with an Intramural Research Training Award. He will also be working on a project relating to bioinformatics for two months with NIH researchers and staff before heading to Rutgers in the fall. The team at Green Pest Services knows that Jonathan will do great things in the next chapter of his life! Congratulations Jonathan!
Jean Luc Montilla is a soon to be graduate of Maurice J. McDonough High School
She is set to attend the College of Southern Maryland in the Fall of 2017 to complete an associate’s degree related to Business and Information Systems and then continue to a 4-year to earn a Bachelor’s degree.
During his time in High School, Jean’s hard work and dedication helped him to maintain high honors, be involved as a student athlete and sing in the Chamber Choir. He says that his best accomplishment in high school, was instilling confidence and inspiration to his fellow classmates during school programs and events.
Jean’s hobbies include computer gaming, running, hiking, reading and learning about history, science and world events. He also enjoys cooking and spending time with his family.
This summer, Jean is looking forward to getting a job and saving up for the semester. While a student at College of Southern Maryland, Jean would like to participate in the cross-country running program. We are excited to support Jean Luc Montilla in his future endeavors and know that he will be a great asset to his community!
Brienna Gisseman, a graduating high school senior from Tuscarora High School
Brienna will be attending Brigham Young University in Provo, UT with plans to study Biochemistry in Fall 2017. Throughout high school, Brienna developed her skills as a leader, scholar and a student athlete. She was captain of her varsity lacrosse team, National Honor Society President, Science National Honor Society Vice President, and held officer positions in three other clubs.
With her involvement in school activities, she also maintained her ranks in the classroom, as she was second in her graduating class with a 4.64 GPA and an AP Scholar with distinction. She notes that her academic success, which includes ACT and AP scores were part of her best accomplishments in high school.
During her free time, Brienna enjoys baking, playing lacrosse and working out. She plans to play for BYU women’s lacrosse team in the fall. As she prepares for her college years ahead, Brienna will be working as a swimming pool manager, swimming instructor and lifeguard certification instructor. We here at Green Pest Services wish Brienna the best of luck on her endeavors at Brigham Young University!
Catherine Canavan, graduate of Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, MD
Catherine will be attending Villanova University in the Fall and majoring in Business. The strong sense of community and the well-regarded Villanova School of Business is the reason Catherine committed to the University.
As a triplet, Catherine has learned to embrace the chaos of everyday life. In school, she was actively involved in Model United Nations, the Spanish Honor Society, and GirlUp. These clubs gave her the opportunity to share her creativity with other students, help raise money for important causes, and practice debating in a competitive setting. She was also captain of her school’s field hockey team and member of the lacrosse team. Her heavy involvement as a student and an athlete was noted as her biggest accomplishments in high school.
Besides playing field hockey, lacrosse and soccer, Catherine also enjoys running and was a half-marathon finisher. Her other hobbies include reading, hanging out with her friends and volunteering. Before she heads off to Villanova, she will continue enjoying her hobbies, as well as working as an assistant manager at Cedarbrook pool. Green Pest is proud to have Catherine as our 2017-scholarship recipient and is rooting for her in all her future endeavors!